Method and system for sharing documents between on-demand services

ABSTRACT

A method for sharing documents between on-demand services is provided. In an embodiment, a user of a first on-demand service may be able to view a list of content that includes content stored at the first on-demand service and content stored at a second on-demand service. The content of the second on-demand service may be associated with information about the content, allowing the content to be shared among multiple users of the first on-demand service. The user wanting to view the content, select or click on an indicator identifying the content, a connection to the second on-demand service is established, and images of the content are sent from the second on-demand service to the first on-demand service.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/791,825, filed Mar. 8, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/584,954, filed Sep. 14, 2009, which claimspriority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/191,914,filed Sep. 12, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following commonly owned, co-pending United States patents andpatent applications, including the present application, are related toeach other. Each of the other patents/applications are incorporated byreference herein in its entirety:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/825,393 entitled SYSTEM AND METHODFOR TRACKING DOCUMENTS IN AN ON-DEMAND SERVICE, by Timothy J. Barker etal., filed Jul. 6, 2007;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/880,197 entitled SYSTEM AND METHODFOR STORING DOCUMENTS ACCESSED BY MULTIPLE USERS IN AN ON-DEMANDSERVICE, by Timothy Barker et al., filed Jul. 20, 2007;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/893,617 entitled Method and Systemfor Pushing Data to Subscribers in an On-Demand Service, by Timothy J.Barker et al., filed Aug. 15, 2007;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/879,535 entitled System and Methodfor Tracking Documents in an On-Demand Service, by Timothy J. Barker etal., filed Jul. 17, 2007; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/584,954 entitled METHOD AND SYSTEMFOR SHARING DOCUMENTS BETWEEN ON-DEMAND SERVICES, by Timothy J. Barkeret al., filed Sep. 14, 2009.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The current invention relates generally to sharing documents andinformation between on-demand services in a database network system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

In conventional on-demand service, users access their documents storedin one logical storage space associated with the provider of aparticular on-demand service. A user of such a conventional systemtypically retrieves documents from, and stores documents on, the systemusing the user's own systems. A user system might remotely access one ofa plurality of server systems that might in turn access the on-demandservice of the service provider. Document retrieval from the systemmight include the issuance of a query from the user system to thedocument management system of the on-demand service. The on-demandservice may process such a request received in the form of a query andmight send to the user system information about documents stored at theon-demand service that are relevant to the request and/or the documentrelevant to the request.

Unfortunately, sharing documents stored on document management systemsof different service providers using conventional on-demand serviceapproaches might be cumbersome, or too complex an activity to bepractical to an average person.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide techniques enabling the abilityto share documents among one or more on-demand services to users toimprove the ease of use of the system.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms andmethods for sharing documents between on-demand services. Thesemechanisms and methods for sharing documents between on-demand servicescan enable embodiments to provide user access to documents andinformation stored on separate on-demand services. The ability ofembodiments to provide for sharing of documents between on-demandservices can enable improved and more efficient access to documents andvarious other information types that are stored on separate on-demandservices.

In an embodiment, a method for sharing documents between on-demandservices (e.g., Google™, Inc., Salesforce.Com®, Inc., etc.) is provided.In an embodiment, first and/or second on-demand service may bemulti-tenant services, which may include multi-tenant databases. In anembodiment, a user of a first on-demand service may be able to view alist of content that includes content stored at the first on-demandservice and content stored at a second on-demand service. The content ofthe second on-demand service may be associated with information aboutthe content, allowing the content to be shared among multiple users ofthe first on-demand service. The user wanting to view the content,select or click on an indicator identifying the content, a connection tothe second on-demand service is established, and images of the contentare sent from the second on-demand service to the first on-demandservice. The user that has content stored on a second on-demand servicethat the user wants to share, may first select the content and establishan association of the content on the second on-demand service withinformation and store the information and the association at the firston-demand service. Then the user may publish the content to a sharedwork space on the first on-demand system. In this specification theterms document and content are used interchangeably. The word documentmay be substituted for the word content to get a specific embodiment andthe word content may be substituted for document to get a broaderstatement. As used herein, the term multi-tenant database system refersto those systems in which various elements of hardware and software ofthe database system may be shared by one or more customers. For example,a given application server may simultaneously process requests for agreat number of customers, and a given database table may store rows fora potentially much greater number of customers. As used herein, the termquery plan refers to a set of steps used to access information in adatabase system.

Each embodiment disclosed herein may be used or otherwise combined withany of the other embodiments disclosed. Any element of any embodimentmay be used in any embodiment.

While the present invention is described with reference to an embodimentin which techniques for sharing documents and information betweenon-demand services are implemented in a system having an applicationserver providing a front end for an on-demand database service capableof supporting multiple tenants, the present invention is not limited tomulti-tenant databases nor deployment on application servers.Embodiments may be practiced using other database architectures, i.e.,ORACLE®, DB2® by IBM and the like without departing from the scope ofthe embodiments claimed.

Any of the above embodiments may be used alone or together with oneanother in any combination. Inventions encompassed within thisspecification may also include embodiments that are only partiallymentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to at all inthis brief summary or in the abstract. Although various embodiments ofthe invention may have been motivated by various deficiencies with theprior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places inthe specification, the embodiments of the invention do not necessarilyaddress any of these deficiencies. In other words, different embodimentsof the invention may address different deficiencies that may bediscussed in the specification. Some embodiments may only partiallyaddress some deficiencies or just one deficiency that may be discussedin the specification, and some embodiments may not address any of thesedeficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples ofthe invention, the invention is not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an example of an environmentwherein an on-demand database service might be used;

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of elements of FIG.1A and various possible interconnections between these elements;

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a documentmanagement system, which may reside within the environment of FIGS. 1Aand 1B.

FIG. 1D shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the tenant data ofFIG. 1B.

FIG. 1E shows a block diagram of the memory system of the user system ofFIGS. 1A and B.

FIG. 1F shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for establishinga connection between on-demand service accounts.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a client-side methodfor establishing a link for sharing documents and content betweenon-demand services;

FIG. 3A illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a server-side methodfor establishing a link for sharing documents and content betweenon-demand services;

FIG. 3B illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a client side methodof using the link established via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A.

FIG. 3C illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a server side methodof using the link established via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A.

FIG. 3D illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of the response of anon-demand service such as Google Docs to the usage of the linkestablished via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A.

FIG. 4 shows screenshot of a contribute page of an on-demand servicewith an example of a “Content Ready for Publishing” queue for publishingand sharing documents, in which some of the documents in the queue arelinked to another website of a separate on-demand service(s) (in thisexample Google®);

FIG. 5 shows a screenshot of a contribute page of an on-demand servicewith an example of selecting a menu button revealing the “Add GoogleDoc” menu, which enables users to add documents from another on-demandwebsite (in this example Google®);

FIG. 6 shows a screenshot of an example of a contribute content overlayinterface for listing, searching, and filtering a list of documents onother on-demand service websites, and for establishing a link within theuser's on-demand website to the content in the other website;

FIG. 7 shows a screenshot of a contribute page with an example of theoverlay interface of FIG. 6 with a search string entered into the searchbox;

FIG. 8 shows a screenshot of an example of the overlay interface of FIG.6 with one of the documents found being selected by checking a box nextto the document;

FIG. 9 shows a screenshot of an example of a new documents interface foradding a document in a second on-demand service to documents in a firston-demand service.

FIG. 10 shows a screenshot of an example of an informational interfacefor adding a browser button to the browser of a user of a firston-demand service's page, which when activated allows the viewing andretrieving of information stored at a second on-demand service via thefirst on-demand service.

FIG. 11 shows a screenshot of an example of an interface for enteringinformation to describe (tag) a document or link to a document, such asone retrieved from or linking to another on-demand service, prior topublishing the document or link.

FIGS. 12A-12L show a sequence of screenshots for creating or locating adocument in a second on-demand service from the workspace of a firston-demand service according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 13A-13F show a sequence of screenshots for contributing content toa first on-demand service from a second on-demand service according toan embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 14A-14D are a series of subscription content screenshots thatorganize user subscribed content based on content, tags, authors, orworkspace according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a method of usingthe environment of FIGS. 1A and 1B;

FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart of a method of making the environment ofFIGS. 1A and 1B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Systems and methods are provided for sharing documents between on-demandservices. The systems and methods provided for sharing documents betweenon-demand services can enable embodiments to provide user access todocuments and information stored on separate on-demand services.

Next, mechanisms and methods for providing and sharing documents andcontent between on-demand services will be described with reference toexample embodiments.

System Overview

FIGS. 1A and 1B show an example of an on-demand multi-tenant database,which is an example of an on-demand service, between which informationmay be shared. FIGS. 1A and 1B serve as an exemplary environment withinwhich the user interface of FIGS. 4-14 may be used.

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an environment 10 wherein anon-demand database service might be used. Environment 10 may includeuser systems 12, network 14, system 16, processor system 17, applicationplatform 18, network interface 20, tenant data storage 22, system datastorage 24, program code 26, and process space 28. In other embodiments,environment 10 may not have all of the components listed and/or may haveother elements instead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

In FIG. 1A environment 10 is an environment in which an on-demanddatabase service exists. User system 12 may be any machine or systemthat is used by a user to access a database user system. For example,any of user systems 12 can be a handheld computing device, a mobilephone, a laptop computer, a work station, and/or a network of computingdevices. As illustrated in FIG. 1A (and in more detail in FIG. 1B) usersystems 12 might interact via a network 14 with an on-demand databaseservice, which is system 16.

An on-demand database service, such as system 16, is a pre-establisheddatabase system that is made available to outside users that do not needto necessarily be concerned with building and/or maintaining thedatabase system, but instead may be available for their use when theusers need the database system (e.g., on the demand of the users). Someon-demand database services may store information from one or moretenants stored into tables of a common database image to form amulti-tenant database system (MTS). Accordingly, “on-demand databaseservice 16” and “system 16” will be used interchangeably herein. Adatabase image may include one or more database objects. A relationaldatabase management system (RDMS) or the equivalent may execute storageand retrieval of information against the database object(s). Applicationplatform 18 may be a framework that allows the applications of system 16to run, such as the hardware and/or software, e.g., the operatingsystem. In an embodiment, on-demand database service 16 may include anapplication platform 18 that enables creation, managing and executingone or more applications developed by the provider of the on-demanddatabase service, users accessing the on-demand database service viauser systems 12, or third party application developers accessing theon-demand database service via user systems 12.

The users of user systems 12 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 12 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 12 tointeract with system 16, that user system has the capacities allotted tothat salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 16, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level.

Network 14 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 14 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. As the most common type of computer network in currentuse is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol)network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred toas the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that network will be used in manyof the examples herein. However, it should be understood that thenetworks that the present invention might use are not so limited,although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.

Continuing with FIG. 1A, user systems 12 might communicate with system16 using TCP/IP and, at a higher network level, use other commonInternet protocols to communicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. Inan example where HTTP is used, user system 12 might include an HTTPclient commonly referred to as a “browser” for sending and receivingHTTP messages to and from an HTTP server at system 16. Such an HTTPserver might be implemented as the sole network interface between system16 and network 14, but other techniques might be used as well orinstead. In some implementations, the interface between system 16 andnetwork 14 includes load sharing functionality, such as round-robin HTTPrequest distributors to balance loads and distribute incoming HTTPrequests evenly over a plurality of servers. At least as for the usersthat are accessing that server, each of the plurality of servers hasaccess to the MTS' data; however, other alternative configurations maybe used instead.

In one embodiment, system 16, shown in FIG. 1A, implements a web-basedcustomer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, in oneembodiment, system 16 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and fromuser systems 12 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject, however, tenant data typically is arranged so that data of onetenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that onetenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unless such datais expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system 16 implementsapplications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. Forexample, system 16 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted(standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User(or third party developer) applications, which may or may not includeCRM, may be supported by the application platform 18, which managescreation, storage of the applications into one or more database objectsand executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the processspace of the system 16.

One arrangement for elements of system 16 is shown in FIG. 1A inconjunction with FIG. 1B, includes a network interface 20, applicationplatform 18, tenant data storage 22 for tenant data 23, system datastorage 24 for system data 25 accessible to system 16 and possiblymultiple tenants, program code 26 for implementing various functions ofsystem 16, and a process space 28 for executing MTS system processes andtenant-specific processes, such as running applications as part of anapplication hosting service. Additional processes that may execute onsystem 16 include database indexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 1A include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 12 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. User system 12 typically runs an HTTP client, e.g., abrowsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 12 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 16 over network 14. Each usersystem 12 also typically includes one or more user interface devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen orthe like, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) providedby the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.)in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by system 16 or other systems or servers. For example, the userinterface device can be used to access data and applications hosted bysystem 16, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwise allow auser to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented to a user.As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with the Internet,which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks. However, itshould be understood that other networks can be used instead of theInternet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network(VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one embodiment, each user system 12 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 16(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of their components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using a central processingunit such as processor system 17, which may include an Intel Pentium®processor or the like, and/or multiple processor units. A computerprogram product embodiment includes a machine-readable storage medium(media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used toprogram a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Computer code for operating and configuring system 16to intercommunicate and to process web pages, applications and otherdata and media content as described herein are preferably downloaded andstored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof,may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory mediumor device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on anymedia capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotatingmedia including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, andmagnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs),or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code forimplementing embodiments of the present invention can be implemented inany programming language that can be executed on a client system and/orserver or server system such as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any othermarkup language, Java™, JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scriptinglanguage, such as VBScript, and many other programming languages as arewell known may be used. (Java™ is a trademark of Sun Microsystems,Inc.).

According to one embodiment, each system 16 is configured to provide webpages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client)systems 12 to support the access by user systems 12 as tenants of system16. As such, system 16 provides security mechanisms to keep eachtenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than one MTSis used, they may be located in close proximity to one another (e.g., ina server farm located in a single building or campus), or they may bedistributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one or moreservers located in city A and one or more servers located in city B). Asused herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant toinclude a computer system, including processing hardware and processspace(s), and an associated storage system and database application(e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 1B also illustrates environment 10. However, in FIG. 1B elements ofsystem 16 and various interconnections in an embodiment are furtherillustrated. FIG. 1B shows that user system 12 may include processorsystem 12A, memory system 12B, input system 12C, and output system 12D.FIG. 1B shows network 14 and system 16. FIG. 1B also shows that system16 may include tenant data storage 22, tenant data 23, system datastorage 24, system data 25, User Interface (UI) 30, Application ProgramInterface (API) 32, PL/SOQL 34, save routines 36, application setupmechanism 38, applications servers 100 ₁-100 _(N), system process space102, tenant process spaces 104, tenant management process space 110,tenant storage area 112, user storage 114, and application metadata 116.In other embodiments, environment 10 may not have the same elements asthose listed above and/or may have other elements instead of, or inaddition to, those listed above.

User system 12, network 14, system 16, tenant data storage 22, andsystem data storage 24 were discussed above in FIG. 1A. Regarding usersystem 12, processor system 12A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 12B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 12Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 12D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 1B, system 16 may include a network interface 20 (of FIG. 1A)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 100, an applicationplatform 18, tenant data storage 22, and system data storage 24. Alsoshown is system process space 102, including individual tenant processspaces 104 and a tenant management process space 110. Each applicationserver 100 may be configured to tenant data storage 22 and the tenantdata 23 therein, and system data storage 24 and the system data 25therein to serve requests of user systems 12. The tenant data 23 mightbe divided into individual tenant storage areas 112, which can be eithera physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within eachtenant storage area 112, user storage 114 and application metadata 116might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of auser's most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage114. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is atenant might be stored to tenant storage area 112. A UI 30 provides auser interface and an API 32 provides an application programmerinterface to system 16 resident processes to users and/or developers atuser systems 12. The tenant data and the system data may be stored invarious databases, such as one or more Oracle™ databases.

Application platform 18 includes an application setup mechanism 38 thatsupports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage 22by save routines 36 for execution by subscribers as one or more tenantprocess spaces 104 managed by tenant management process 110 for example.Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 34 thatprovides a programming language style interface extension to API 32. Adetailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments is discussedin commonly owned co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application60/828,192 entitled, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE METHOD AND SYSTEM FOREXTENDING APIS TO EXECUTE IN CONJUNCTION WITH DATABASE APIS, by CraigWeissman, filed Oct. 4, 2006, which is incorporated in its entiretyherein for all purposes. Invocations to applications may be detected byone or more system processes, which manage retrieving applicationmetadata 116 for the subscriber making the invocation and executing themetadata as an application in a virtual machine.

Each application server 100 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 25 and tenant data 23, via adifferent network connection. For example, one application server 100 ₁might be coupled via the network 14 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 100 _(N-1) might be coupled via a direct networklink, and another application server 100 _(N) might be coupled by yet adifferent network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating betweenapplication servers 100 and the database system. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may beused to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain embodiments, each application server 100 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 100. In one embodiment, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 100 and the user systems 12 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 100. In one embodiment, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 100. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain embodiments, three consecutive requests from the same user couldhit three different application servers 100, and three requests fromdifferent users could hit the same application server 100. In thismanner, system 16 is multi-tenant, wherein system 16 handles storage of,and access to, different objects, data and applications across disparateusers and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 16 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 22). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 16 that are allocated atthe tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant-specific data, system 16 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain embodiments, user systems 12 (which may be client systems)communicate with application servers 100 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 16 that may requiresending one or more queries to tenant data storage 22 and/or system datastorage 24. System 16 (e.g., an application server 100 in system 16)automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one or moreSQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information. Systemdata storage 24 may generate query plans to access the requested datafrom the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects according to the present invention. It should be understood that“table” and “object” may be used interchangeably herein. Each tablegenerally contains one or more data categories logically arranged ascolumns or fields in a viewable schema. Each row or record of a tablecontains an instance of data for each category defined by the fields.For example, a CRM database may include a table that describes acustomer with fields for basic contact information such as name,address, phone number, fax number, etc. Another table might describe apurchase order, including fields for information such as customer,product, sale price, date, etc. In some multi-tenant database systems,standard entity tables might be provided for use by all tenants. For CRMdatabase applications, such standard entities might include tables forAccount, Contact, Lead, and Opportunity data, each containingpre-defined fields. It should be understood that the word “entity” mayalso be used interchangeably herein with “object” and “table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004, entitled “Custom Entities and Fields ina Multi-Tenant Database System”, and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference, teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects aswell as customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system.In certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows arestored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may containmultiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to customersthat their multiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table orthat their data may be stored in the same table as the data of othercustomers

Document Management System

FIG. 1C illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a tenantmanagement process space 110 (FIGS. 1A and 1B), which may includedocument management system (DMS) 120. DMS 120 may include documentsharing 122, HTTP client add-on 124, installation software 126, setup128, security 130, login 132, other document management software 134. Inother embodiments, tenant management process space 110 may not have thesame elements as those listed above and/or may have other elementsinstead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

Although in the embodiment of FIG. 1C, the document management system120 is part of the tenant management space 110 in other embodiments DMS120 may be located elsewhere such as a separate object within processspace 28. In an embodiment, DMS 120 manages the retrieval and saving ofdocuments. DMS 120 may manage where documents are saved and which usershave access to those documents. HTTP client add-on 124 is code that isadded to a user's HTTP client (e.g., browser) for launching variousprocesses that are carried out by DMS 120, such as document sharing 122.

Document sharing 122 may include an algorithm for retrieving documents(or other content) from a variety of locations within system 16, fromother on-demand services that were chosen by the user, and/or from oneor more specific pre-chosen on-demand services Google®, and/or Yahoo!®.In an embodiment, document sharing 122 may include algorithmsspecifically tailored for retrieving content from each of the pre-chosenon-demand services and/or a generic algorithm designed to be able toretrieve documents from nearly any on-demand service that users mayspecify (without having foreknowledge of what on-demand services usermay specify). In another embodiment, document sharing 122 may include analgorithm that is an HTTP client to the other on-demand service that isopened from the system 16. From the point of view of the user, theuser's standard HTTP client remains open, and the contents that are madeavailable via system 16's HTTP client are viewed via the user's HTTPclient. As a consequence, the user never leaves the website of thesystem 16 (the current on-demand service) while viewing the content onthe other on-demand service.

The ability of embodiments of document sharing 122 to provide forsharing of documents between on-demand services can enable improved andmore efficient access to documents and various other information typesthat are stored on separate on-demand services. In an embodiment, amethod for sharing documents between on-demand services (e.g., Google,Inc., Salesforce.com, Inc., etc.) is provided. In an embodiment documentsharing 122 may include machine instructions for implementing a methodhaving the following steps. A request from a user of a first on-demandservice may be received. In response to the request, the first on-demandservice may initiate the establishing of an association of content(e.g., documents, such as spreadsheets, photos, etc.) from anapplication provided by a second on-demand service with data of thetenant stored at the first on-demand service. An indicator may be storedat the first on-demand service. The indicator may include a link thatopens a webpage for locating the content of the second on-demand serviceand for creating a content wrapper for the content of the secondon-demand service into a content storage area of the first on-demandservice. A file wrapper is a place in storage for information related toa file and for storing code for an interface to the content that isactivated when the user indicates to open the content (e.g. by clickingon an icon representing the content). The content wrapper associates thecontent with a specific application that can read and edit the content.Whether the content is stored on the first or second database service,when the content is opened, the first database service opens the contentwith the application that the file wrapper associates with the content,and consequently the user does not need to have the applicationassociated with the content to open the content.

In an embodiment, a user of a first on-demand service (e.g., a web baseddatabase) may establish a pointer within the first on-demand servicethat points to a document or content in a second on-demand service. Theuser may utilize the pointer to access the document that belongs to thesecond on-demand service from the first on-demand service (e.g., awebsite). In this specification, the terms “on-demand service” is usedinterchangeable with the terms a “website” and “web based database.”Accordingly, except for where the context indicates otherwise, any ofthese terms may be substituted one for another to obtain a differentembodiment. In embodiments of the invention, a pointer is used as anexample of a link. However, any type of link may be substituted for thepointer wherever a pointer is mentioned in this specification. In anembodiment, a link is placed on one or more web pages of the firston-demand website and/or on one or more pages of the second on-demandwebsite that initiate establishing a pointer. In an embodiment, uponactivating a link for establishing a pointer, an interface is openedthat facilitates establishing the pointer without having to open thesecond on-demand database or the other of the two on-demand databases.

In an embodiment, part of the process of establishing a pointer or linkincludes presenting one or more web pages to a user of a first on-demandservice for receiving relational information, which is information aboutwhat other documents, products, projects, other people, and/or entitiesthe content on a second on-demand service is related. In addition,following the publishing of the pointer, the relevance (e.g., to asearch) and context (e.g., category) may be available to other usersthat have access to the pointer.

In an embodiment, a user of a first on-demand database may also be ableto establish and/or modify the relevance and context (e.g., thecategory) of a pointer after the pointer has been published in additionto or instead of establishing the relationship and/or relevance prior topublishing the pointer.

In an embodiment, the clicks or selections of users of a first on-demandservice may be tracked and analyzed to assist the tenant in determiningthe usefulness of the documents or other information on a secondon-demand service. In an embodiment, tools are provided for analyzingthe data and for presenting the data and analysis about the clicks thatwere collected. For example, tools may be provided for presenting graphsof the clicks overtime that related to a particular document or portionof the second on-demand database service.

In an embodiment, when a user of a first on-demand service accessescontent of a second on-demand service, depending on the level of accessof the content being accessed, the user may be prompted for logininformation prior to granting access. In an embodiment, logininformation may be requested for only the initial or first time a userattempts to access content on a second on-demand service, and eachsubsequent time the user requests access to the information on thesecond on-demand service, the login information, which was has alreadybeen provided, is used to automatically login without the user beingbothered to view the login prompt. Alternatively, a tenant may havesettings that allow the user to choose whether to be prompted for thelogin input each time access is requested or only the first time accessis requested. In an embodiment, a user of a first on-demand service(e.g., a web based database) may establish a pointer within the firston-demand service that points to a document or content in a secondon-demand service. The user may utilize the pointer to access thedocument that belongs to the second on-demand service from the firston-demand service (e.g., website).

Continuing with FIG. 1C, installation software 126 installs HTTP clientadd-on 124 into the user's browser. Setup 128 sets up document sharing122 on system 16 for the user. For example setup 128 may include analgorithm for establishing an initial connection with another on-demandservice. Setup 128 may collect the user's password, the user name of theuser on the other on-demand service, a customer identifier, the URL ofthe other on-demand service, and/or other account information, which areused for logging in and/or accessing information on the other. Setup 128may setup an initial connection to user chosen on-demand services and/oron-demand services for which information was already preloaded intosystem 16. Setup 128 may include algorithms specifically tailored forsetting up access with specific on-demand services. For example, setup128 may include a specific option for establishing a connection todocuments at Google®, and/or Yahoo!®. After running setup 128 toestablish an initial connection with another on-demand service, documentsharing 122 may establish links to content within that on-demand serviceand/or retrieve content from that on-demand service. Security 130determines which users may access a particular document and/or via whichworkspaces the document may be accessed. Security 130 may allow a userto determine whether a document has been available to a particular groupor whether only the user can view the document. Login 132 is analgorithm that logs the user into another on-demand service to allowsharing between the other on-demand service and the system 16. In anembodiment, login 132 opens a link, which when selected opens a webpagethat requests login information, needed for logging into the otheron-demand service, from the user. In another embodiment, login 132automatically logs the user into another on-demand service when the userrequests a document from the other on-demand service. Other documentmanagement software 134 may perform other document management functions,such as those discussed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/893,617entitled Method and System for Pushing Data to Subscribers in anOn-Demand Service, by Timothy J. Barker et al., filed Aug. 15, 2007,cited above, for example.

Tenant Data

FIG. 1D shows a block diagram of an embodiment of the tenant data 114 ofFIG. 1B. The tenant data 114 may include user login data 150, userspecified links 152, on-demand services links 154, user content 156, andother tenant data 158. In other embodiments, tenant data 114 may nothave the same elements as those listed above and/or may have otherelements instead of, or in addition to, those listed above.

Tenant data 114 was described above in conjunction with FIG. 1B. Userlogin data 150 may include user data necessary for automatically loginto other on-demand services, such as the data collected by setup 128and/or the data used by automatic login 132. User specified links 152may include links to documents (or other content) in user specifiedon-demand services, where the user specified on-demand services areon-demand services that the user inputted into system 16, and whichsystem 16 may not have had any prior information about, for example.On-demand services links 154 may include links to content at on-demandservices (e.g., on-demand services 1-N) for which the information aboutthe on-demand service was already in system 16. User content 156 mayinclude links to user content within system 16. User content 156 may beseparated into different types of content and/or identified according tothe type of content. For example, documents produced by differentsoftware may be identified differently. Spreadsheets, slide shows,images, and word processing type documents may be identifieddifferently. As another example, documents produced by Excel, MS Word,WordPerfect, Power Point, Adobe Acrobat, may each be designateddifferently.

Memory System of User System

FIG. 1E shows a block diagram of the memory system 12B of the usersystem 12 of FIGS. 1A and B. Memory system 12B may include HTTP client12E, which in turn may include add-on 12F and other user software 12G.In other embodiments, memory system 12B may not have the same elementsas those listed above and/or may have other elements instead of, or inaddition to, those listed above.

Memory system 12B was generally described above in conjunction withFIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1E shows different logical blocks of memory thatmay be included in memory system 12B. Logical blocks of memory areportions of memory that may not necessarily be physically contiguous,but have identifiers linking each portion to other portions as parts ofone entity (such as, as different parts of the same document, differentparts of the same file, different parts of the same program, and/or asdifferent parts of the same object). In an embodiment, HTTP client 12Emay be a logical memory block that may be set aside for storing abrowser application or other HTTP client, which may be used forcommunicating with system 16 for a variety of purposes. For example,HTTP client 12E may be used to access system 16 and retrieve documentsfrom another on-demand service via system 16. Add-on 12F may be alogical block within HTTP 12E. Add-on 12F may be an embodiment of HTTPclient add-on 124, which was installed by installation software 126.However, add-on 12F is the add-on after installation that resides withinuser system 12, while HTTP client add-on 124 is the same software, butprior to installation. Other user software 12G may include othersoftware for running user system 12, such as an operating system, devicedrivers, a word processing application, a spreadsheet application, agraphics application, and/or other user applications.

Setup Methods for Establishing a Connection Between on-Demand ServiceAccounts

FIG. 1F illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a client-side method180 for establishing a connection between on-demand services for sharingdocuments and content. In step 182, a webpage having a link forestablishing and/or utilizing a connection between on-demand services issent to a user, which may be an administrator. The user is a user of thetenant and therefore a user of the on-demand service.

In step 184, the user sends a request to a first on-demand service toestablish an association of between a user account at the firston-demand service and an account at a second on-demand service havingdocuments, spreadsheets, photos, etc. to be shared with the firston-demand service. The user request may be sent from user system 12 (seeFIGS. 1A and 1B). In step 186, the first on-demand service prompts theuser to provide credentials for accessing the second on-demand service.In step 188, the user sends credentials for accessing the secondon-demand service to the first on-demand service. In optional step 190,the credentials for accessing the second on-demand service are stored atthe first on-demand service. In optional step 192, instructions areprovided to the user for providing a confirmation to the secondon-demand service that the establishment of the connection between theon-demand services is authorized. In optional step 194, the userreceives a prompt from the second on-demand service to confirm that theestablishment of the connection with the first on-demand service isauthorized. In optional step 196, the user provides the second on-demandservice with credentials associated with the second on-demand serviceand confirms that the establishment of the connection is authorized. Inanother embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 1F,steps 182-196 may not be distinct steps. In other embodiments, method180 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have other steps inaddition to or instead of those listed above. The steps of method 180may be performed in another order. Subsets of the steps listed above aspart of method 180 may be used to form their own method. For example,step 182 may form a method that is independent of the method of steps184-196. For example step 182 may set up an initial connection to one ormore on-demand services for which information was already preloaded intosystem 16, and for which accounts at other on-demand services areautomatically created by the first on-demand service for use by theuser, at the tenant's discretion.

Client-Side Setup Method for Sharing Documents Between on-DemandServices

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a client-side method200 for establishing a link for sharing documents and content betweenon-demand services. In step 202, a user, sends a request to a firston-demand service to establish an association of content (e.g.,documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc.) from an application provided by asecond on-demand service with data of the tenant stored at the firston-demand service. The user request may be sent from user system 12 (seeFIGS. 1A and 1B). In step 204, in response to the user's request, theuser receives an updated webpage (or other interface) having a list ofcontent available for sharing between on-demand services. In step 206,the user makes a selection of one or more content items from the list ofcontent available to be shared between on-demand services. In step 208,the user receives a prompt from the first on-demand service to provideinformation relevant to the one or more documents selected for sharing(e.g., tags, authorship, category, or workspace in which to placedocument, etc.). In step 210, the user sends the information relevant tothe one or more documents to the first on-demand service. In step 212,the user is prompted to publish the one or more documents. In Step 214,the user sends a request to publish the one or more documents. In step216, the user, or a user with sufficient access to the tenant'sdocuments, requests the published document. In step 218, the user oruser with sufficient access receives the published document.

Optionally, in step 204, a webpage (or other interface) is opened thatfacilitates establishing the link (e.g., a pointer or URL) withouthaving to open the second on-demand database or the other of the twoon-demand databases. Optionally in step 206, the user may select therequested content from a user interface (UI) of the first on-demandservice via user system 12. In another embodiment, although depicted asdistinct steps in FIG. 2, steps 202-218 may not be distinct steps. Inother embodiments, method 200 may not have all of the above steps and/ormay have other steps in addition to or instead of those listed above.The steps of method 200 may be performed in another order. Subsets ofthe steps listed above as part of method 200 may be used to form theirown method. For example, steps 204 and 212 may form a method that isindependent of the method of steps 200-218.

Server-Side Setup Method for Sharing Documents Between on-DemandServices

FIG. 3A illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a server-side method300 for establishing a link for sharing documents and content betweenon-demand services. In step 302, a selection request is received from auser, by a first on-demand service to establish an association ofcontent (e.g., documents, spreadsheets, photos, etc.) from anapplication provided by a second on-demand service with data of thetenant stored at the first on-demand service. The user request may bereceived from user system 12 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B). In step 304, thefirst on-demand service sends a request to the second on-demand servicefor a list of documents available at the second on-demand service. Instep 306, the list of documents available at the second on-demandservice is displayed to the user.

In step 308, the first on-demand service sends a request to the secondon-demand service for indicators (e.g., links) associated with a user'sselection of documents to be shared with the first on-demand service. Instep 310, the first on-demand service receives one or more indicatorscorresponding to the one or more documents to be shared betweenon-demand services. In step 312, the first on-demand service sends arequest to the user to provide information relevant to the one or moredocuments selected for sharing (e.g., tags, authorship, category, orworkspace in which to place document, etc.). In step 314, informationrelevant to one or more documents is received from the user at the firston-demand service. In step 316, the first on-demand service sends aprompt to publish one or more documents to a user. In Step 318, thefirst on-demand service receives a request to publish one or moredocuments from the user. In step 320, the indicators associated with thedocuments selected from the second on-demand service are stored at thefirst on-demand service. In step 322, the information and indicatorsassociated with documents of the second on-demand service are publishedto the first on-demand service, and an indication (e.g., a notification)is sent to the user to notify the user that an indicator is stored atthe first on-demand service. For example, the user may receive a copy ofthe webpage (or other interface) having the indicator. The indicator mayinclude a link that opens a webpage for locating and/or retrieving thecontent of the second on-demand service or application. In optional step324, the selection of one or more content items (e.g., documents) fromthe second on-demand service, the labeling and the publication of theselected documents is performed automatically at the first on-demandservice, and includes all documents stored in one or more locations(e.g., folders) at the second on-demand service.

In step 326, a request for a shared document is received from the at thefirst on-demand service. In step 328, the first on-demand serviceutilizes the indicator associated with the shared document requested instep 326 to provide the requested document.

Optionally in step 304, a webpage (or other interface) is opened thatfacilitates establishing the link (e.g., a pointer) without having toopen the second on-demand database or the other of the two on-demanddatabases.

Optionally, in step 322, in response to the user's request, an indicatoris stored at the first on-demand service. The indicator may include alink that opens a webpage for locating the content of the secondon-demand service or application, and for placing the content into acontent storage area of the first on-demand service. In step 306, inresponse to the user selecting the requested content from a userinterface (UI) of the first on-demand service, via user system 12, thecontent is sent to the user. In another embodiment, although depicted asdistinct steps in FIG. 3, steps 302-306 may not be distinct steps. Inother embodiments, method 300 may not have all of the above steps and/ormay have other steps in addition to or instead of those listed above.The steps of method 300 may be performed in another order. Subsets ofthe steps listed above as part of method 300 may be used to form theirown method. For example, steps 304 and 306 may form a method that isindependent of the method of steps 300-306.

Client Side Method of Sharing Content

FIG. 3B illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a client side method310 of using the link established via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A. Instep 312, a user opens HTTP Client 12F to access a first on-demandservice, or otherwise accesses a first on-demand service. The user mayopen HTTP Client 12F from user system 12 (see FIGS. 1A and 1B). In step314, the user selects or opens a link to a second on-demand service,where the link is stored at the first on-demand service, system 16. Thelink may open a webpage displaying the content that is stored within thesecond on-demand service. In an embodiment, a login page is firstpresented to the user to login to the second on-demand service, unlessthe user is already logged in to the second on-demand service. Inanother embodiment, even if the user is not already logged in, system 16automatically logs the user into the second on-demand service. In anembodiment, the user is presented with a page containing a mixture ofdocuments, some of the documents being stored on and/or otherwiseoriginating from the other on-demand service, while other documents areunrelated to the other on-demand service. In an embodiment, the user maychoose content from the second on-demand service for placing the contentinto a content storage area of the first on-demand service so that thecontent is available at system 16. In step 316, the user selects contentto be obtained from the second on-demand service via a user interface(UI) of the first on-demand service, via user system 12. In step 318,the user receives an indication that the selected content has been sentfrom the second on-demand service to the first on-demand service of theuser. Optionally in step 314, when activating a link, a webpage (orother interface) is opened that facilitates establishing the link (e.g.,a pointer) without having to open the second on-demand database or theother of the two on-demand databases.

In another embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 3B,steps 312-318 may not be distinct steps. In other embodiments, method310 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have other steps inaddition to or instead of those listed above. The steps of method 310may be performed in another order. Subsets of the steps listed above aspart of method 310 may be used to form their own method. For example,steps 312 and 314 may form a method that is independent of the method ofsteps 312-318 of using the link established via the method of FIGS. 2and 3A.

Server Side Method of Sharing Content

FIG. 3C illustrates a flowchart of an embodiment of a server side method330 of using the link established via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A. Instep 332, the first on-demand service receives a content request inresponse to a user's link selection. In step 334, the first on-demandservice forwards the content request to a second on-demand service thathas the requested content. In step 336, the first on-demand servicereceives the requested content from the second on-demand service. Instep 338, the first on-demand service provides the requested content tothe user via a user interface of the first on-demand service. In anotherembodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 3C, steps332-338 may not be distinct steps.

In other embodiments, method 330 may not have all of the above stepsand/or may have other steps in addition to or instead of those listedabove. The steps of method 330 may be performed in another order.Subsets of the steps listed above as part of method 330 may be used toform their own method. For example, steps 332 and 334 may form a methodthat is independent of the method of steps 332-338.

Second on-Demand Service Method of Sharing Content

FIG. 3D illustrates a flowchart of a method embodiment 350 of theresponse of a second on-demand service such as Google Docs to the usageof the link established via the method of FIGS. 2 and 3A. In step 352, asecond on-demand service receives a request for content stored by thesecond on-demand service from a first on-demand service. In step 354, inresponse to the content request from the first on-demand service, thesecond on-demand service sends the requested content to the firston-demand service.

In another embodiment, although depicted as distinct steps in FIG. 3D,steps 352-354 may not be distinct steps. In other embodiments, method350 may not have all of the above steps and/or may have other steps inaddition to or instead of those listed above. The steps of method 350may be performed in another order. Subsets of the steps listed above aspart of method 330 may be used to form their own method. For example,step 352 may form a method that is independent of the method of steps352-354.

Screenshots

FIG. 4 shows screenshot of a contribute page 400 of an on-demand servicewith an example of a “Content Ready for Publishing” queue 418 forpublishing and sharing documents, in which some of the documents in thequeue are linked to another website of a separate on-demand service(s)(in this example Google®). Contribute page 400 may include home tab 402,workspace tab 404, content tab 406, subscriptions tab 408, and acontribute tab 410. The contribute page may also include a contentcontribution source selection area 412, add document button 414 (shownas Add Google Doc in example), add file button 416, and add website linkbutton 418, the content ready for publishing queue 420, a content searcharea 422, and a recent items area 424. In other embodiments, thecontribute page 400 may not have all of the elements listed and/or mayhave other elements instead of or in addition to those listed.

The contribute page 400 provides a user with information on thedocuments that are available for publishing. The home tab 402 is a tabthat brings a user to a homepage (not shown) of the user's on-demandservice. The workspace tab 404 is a tab that brings a user to a list ofworkspaces (not shown) within the user's on-demand service, which theuser may select. The content tab 406 is a tab that allows the user toview content that has already been published. The subscriptions tab 408brings the user to a webpage that allows the user to initiate and/ormodify a subscription to documents and/or other items within system datastorage 24 (see FIG. 1A). The contribute tab 410 is highlighted andpresently selected by the user to display the contribute content area412. Within the contribute content area 412, the add document button 414(shown as Add Google Doc in the example of FIG. 4), add file button 416,and add website link button 418 maybe used to add or share contentbetween on-demand services. Specifically, add document button 414 may beused for adding documents, add file button 416 may be used for addingfiles, and add website link button 418 may be used for adding a link toa website. Add document button 414 may be configured to add documentsfrom a specific predetermined on-demand system, such as Google® orYahoo!®. In an embodiment, there may be multiple add document buttons inwhich each document button is configured for a different on-demandservice.

Continuing with FIG. 4, the content ready for publishing queue 420 isorganized into columns, and provides a listing by name 426 of contentready for publishing in a list that provides the type of content 428(i.e., Google content, Microsoft based content, Adobe based content,etc.), a chronology of when the content was uploaded to the on-demandservice 430, and the content's status 432 with respect to theavailability of the content for publishing. The content search area 422includes one or more links and/or fields that allow a user to formulatea search query of their on-demand service. The recent items area 424lists content and items that have been recently accessed by the user.

FIG. 5 is a screenshot of an example of a contribute page 500, which isrelated to contribute page 400. The contribute page 500 may include hometab 402, workspace tab 404, content tab 406, subscriptions tab 408, anda contribute tab 410. The contribute page may also include a contentcontribution source selection area 412, add document button 414 (shownas Add Google Doc in the example), add file button 416, and add websitelink button 418, the content ready for publishing queue 420, a contentsearch area 422, and a recent items area 424, which were described inconjunction with FIG. 4, above. Contribute page 500 may also includepull down menu 502, existing document 504, and cursor 506. In otherembodiments, the contribute page 500 may not have all of the elementslisted and/or may have other elements instead of or in addition to thoselisted.

Continuing with the screenshot of FIG. 5, the contribute page 500 of anon-demand service has an example of a user selecting an add documentbutton 414, in the form of an “Add Google Doc” to reveal the add contentfrom another on-demand service pull down menu 502, which enables usersto add documents from another on-demand website (in this exampleGoogle®). The pull down menu 502, of the present example, provides theuser with the option of adding a new document, a new spreadsheet, a newpresentation, or an existing document 504. In the example of FIG. 5, theoption for adding an existing document 504 is highlighted since a cursor506 is positioned over the add existing document 504 selection in thepull down menu 502.

FIG. 6 shows a screenshot of an example of a contribute content overlayinterface 600 for listing, searching, and filtering a list of documentsand content on other on-demand service websites, and for establishing alink within the user's on-demand website to the content in the otherwebsite. The contribute content overlay interface 600 may include anentry field 602, a search button 604, filter parameters 606, and alisting of available content 608. The listing of available content 608may be organized into columns by name of content 610, folder sharingaccess rights 612, and date of contribution 614. Furthermore, groups ofcontent may be formed based on their chronological period ofcontribution, for example today, yesterday, earlier this week, etc. Inother embodiments, the contribute content overlay interface 600 may nothave all of the elements listed and/or may have other elements insteadof or in addition to those listed.

Continuing with FIG. 6, the contribute content overlay interface 600appears above the contribute page 500 in response to the user'sselection of the option of adding existing content 504 from the pulldown menu 502. In the present example, the existing content is found inthe Google® on-demand service. However additional on-demand services mayalso be accessed. The entry field 602 is utilized for conductingsearches of available content on a selected on-demand (in this exampleGoogle®). A search is initiated after the entry of search parametersinto the entry field 602, and a user clicks on the search button 604.Filter parameters 606, which may include content types such asdocuments, spreadsheets, and presentations, serve to target the searchresults to content the user wants to contribute to their on-demandservice.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show screenshots of examples of contribute content overlayinterface pages 700 and 800 respectively, which are related tocontribute content overlay interface 600. Contribute content overlayinterface pages 700 and 800 may each include an entry field 602, asearch button 604, filter parameters 606, and a listing of availablecontent 608. Entry field 602, search button 604, filter parameters 606,and a listing of available content 608 were described in conjunctionwith FIG. 6, above.

FIG. 7 shows a screenshot of a contribute page 500 with an example ofthe contribute content overlay interface 600 of FIG. 6 with a searchstring entered into the entry field 602 (in addition to the elementsdiscussed above that are common to FIGS. 5-8). FIG. 7 also showsauto-complete drop down menu 702. In other embodiments, the contributecontent overlay interface 700 may not have all of the elements listedand/or may have other elements instead of or in addition to thoselisted.

Continuing with FIG. 7, in response to a user entering a search stringor a portion of a search string in the entry field 602, an auto-completedrop down menu 702 appears with content that relates to the enteredsearch string. In the present example, the user begins to type in thesearch string “156” in entry field 602, and in response theauto-complete drop down menu 702 appears with content that relates tothe entered search string “156”, such as “156 Plan” and “156Plan—Marketing & Google Apps,” for example.

FIG. 8 shows a screenshot of a contribute page 500 with an example ofthe contribute content overlay interface 600 of FIG. 6 with one of thedocuments found in a search being selected by checking a box 802 next tothe document (in addition to the elements discussed above that arecommon to FIGS. 5-8). In other embodiments, the contribute contentoverlay interface 800 may not have all of the elements listed and/or mayhave other elements instead of or in addition to those listed.

Following the selection of content by the user, by checking off one ormore selection boxes (box 802 in the present example), the selectedcontent is now ready to be added from the on-demand service (in thisexample Google®) to the user's on-demand service (in this exampleSalesforce) upon the user clicking (selecting) the publish button 804.

FIG. 9 shows a screenshot of an example of a new documents interface 900for adding a document in a first on-demand service to documents in asecond on-demand service. New interface 900 may include informationalcontent 902, publish button 903, selection field 904, accounts menu 906,search box 908, and limit items box 910. In other embodiments, newdocument interface 900 may not have all of the elements listed and/ormay have other elements instead of or in addition to those listed.

Continuing with FIG. 9, the user is brought to new document interface900 as a result of selecting new document from pull down menu 502 (FIG.5). In the example of FIG. 9, the informational content 902 informs auser that they may publish documents that are in another on-demandservice to their current on-demand service. For example, informationalcontent 902 may state that the user may publish their Google® doc (orother content from an on-demand service) to a workspace of theiron-demand service, thereby allowing the following: add custom field datato help categorize and describe content, add tags to help otherworkspace members find content, and allow workspace members to rate,comment on, and subscribe to the user's content. Selecting publishbutton 903 causes the document that is specified to publish. Selectionfield 904 allows the user to enter the location of the new document thatthe user would like to publish. Account menu 906 allows theadministrator to select an account in which the user is associated withto which the add documents feature is added. Search 908 allows the userto search for a user or account to which to add documents feature. Limitbox 910 allows the user to limit the search to documents that the userowns.

FIG. 10 shows a screenshot 1000 of an example of an informationalinterface 1002 for adding a browser button to a first on-demandservice's page, which when activated allows the viewing and retrievingof information stored at a second on-demand service.

In the example of FIG. 10, the informational interface 1002 informs auser that they may add on-demand content (in this example Google® docs)to their own on-demand service (in this example Salesforce). The user isinstructed to click or select the add Google® doc to Salesforce browserbutton to associate that Google® doc to a Salesforce record. Ademonstration video 1004 explaining how to add on-demand content is alsoprovided.

FIG. 11 shows a screenshot of an example of a describe and publishinterface 1100 for entering information to describe (tag) a document orlink to a document, such as one retrieved from or linking to anotheron-demand service, prior to publishing the document or link. Thedescribe and publish interface may include a title entry field 1102, adescription field 1104, a workspace selection field 1106, a taggingfield 1108, a tag list 1110, and a publish button 1112. In otherembodiments, the describe and publish interface 1100 may not have all ofthe elements listed and/or may have other elements instead of or inaddition to those listed.

A user utilizes the describe and publish interface 1100 for postingcontent to a workspace in an on-demand service. The user is brought topublish interface 1100 by selecting publish button 903 (FIG. 9). Theuser may choose descriptors for the content that they are publishing,including a title, which is entered in the title entry field 1102, adescription of the content, which is entered in the description field1104, and one or more tags, which are entered in the tagging field 1108.A list of recently used tags 1110 assists the user in assigning tags tothe content to be published. In the event the user is ready to publishtheir content, the user clicks on the publish button 1112 to post thecontent

FIGS. 12A-12L show a sequence of screenshots for creating or locating adocument in a second on-demand service from the workspace of a firston-demand service according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12A shows a screenshot of a workspace page 1200 with the workspacetab 1202 selected to display a content workspaces overview 1208 of afirst on-demand service (in the present example Salesforce). In responseto the selection of the “Add Google Doc” tab 1204, a pull down menu 1206is generated for adding a new document, a new spreadsheet, a newpresentation, or an existing document from a second on-demand service(in this example Google®). A selection from the pull down menu 1206initiates the sending of a request to add a new or existing content itemto the first on-demand service by the user machine to a server and adialog box for adding/creating the new content from the second on-demandservice is opened on the user's machine.

FIGS. 12A-12L, FIGS. 13A-13F, and FIGS. 14A-14D show an embodiment inwhich the first on-demand service is Salesforce.Com®, Inc. and thesecond on-demand service is Google®. However, Salesforce.Com®, Inc. andGoogle® are just examples. Any two on-demand services may be substitutedfor Salesforce.Com®, Inc. and Google®.

FIG. 12B shows a screenshot of a dialog prompt that informs the userthat the user will be required to leave Salesforce.com (or any firston-demand service) and log in to Google Apps (or any second on-demandservice) to locate or create the document. The user is also informedthat the user needs to create an account in the Google Apps if the userpresently does not have an account.

FIG. 12C shows a screenshot of a dialog box 1220 that informs the userthat available documents (e.g., the Google Docs®) are being retrievedand will be displayed for the user's selection for contribution to theirSalesforce content. During the display of dialog box 1220, a requestfrom Salesforce.com (on any first on-demand service) is sent to Google(or any second on-demand service). The request includes (1) a requestfor access to the user's account on the second on-demand service (e.g.,to the Google apps account) and (2) a request for the ID or URL of thedocument that will be selected by the user once inside the user'saccount on the second on-demand service (e.g., the user's Google Appsaccount).

FIG. 12D shows a screenshot of a login screen 1226 of Google Apps (orthe second on-demand service) generated in response to the user requestfor content from Google Apps placed in the Salesforce application (firston-demand service). The Google Apps (or the second on-demand service)notifies the user they must login to authenticate that they wish toallow a “third party service” the Salesforce application to access theGoogle Apps service. In an embodiment, the user must sign in beforeGoogle grants access. In an embodiment, Salesforce attempts to providethe user information on record for signing in, but if that does notwork, or if the data is not on record at Salesforce, the user signs inmanually.

FIG. 12E shows a screenshot of the user signed on to the Google Docsportion 1230 of Google Apps. The user selects an existing file (orcreates a new file) that will be associated with the content item beingcreated at Salesforce. The ID or URL of the file that was requested bythe Salesforce user is then sent to Salesforce (first on-demandservice). Column 1232 identifies what content is currently shared withother users. The Google Docs window 1230 is subsequently closed if theuser accepts a prompt (not shown) to close the window.

FIG. 12F shows a screenshot of an overlay dialog page 1236 to workspacepage 1200 of the first on-demand service (Salesforce) of FIG. 12A. Theoverlay dialog page 1236 provides fields 1238 for naming the contentitem that will be associated with the selected Google document. Overlaydialog page 1236 also provides the user with a choice of selection ofwhere to publish content. The user may select to either save the contentitem to a personal workspace by selecting sharing selection 1240, or topublish the content to a shared workspace by selecting sharing selection1242. In the event the user selects to publish to a shared workspace,the user may select tags and provide additional information about thesoon to be published content in the description entry area 1246. Theuser publishes the content by selecting the publish button 1244.

FIG. 12G shows another screenshot of an overlay dialog page 1236 withthe user selecting sharing selection 1242, and subsequently a pull downmenu 1248 is utilized by the user to determine which workspace to usefor the published shared content.

FIG. 12H shows a screenshot of an overlay dialog page 1250 configuredfor the user to provide classification for soon to be published contentby providing tags from a tag area 1252 and additional information froman additional information area 1254. In the event the user selects topublish to a shared workspace by choosing sharing selection 1256, theuser subsequently selects a workspace (destination area) to publish thecontent to from a pull down menu 1258. Tags are assigned to the contentin area 1260. The user may select suggested tags from a most recent usedtag list 1262. Information to be specified by the user in the additionalinformation area 1254 includes the content type 1264 via a pull downmenu, the document type 1266 via a pull down menu. The user utilizes thepublish button 1268 when completing the entry of information withinoverlay dialog page 1250.

FIG. 12I is a screenshot of an overlay page 1270 that initiates upon theuser selecting the publish button 1268 of FIG. 12H. During the displayof the overlay page 1270, the user's choices for the content to publishinitiates a process at Salesforce (first on-demand service) to (1)create the new content item, (2) associate the document ID retrievedfrom Google (second on-demand service) with the new content item, and(3) to add the classification, tags, workspace destination, etc. as partof creating the new content item.

FIGS. 12J-12L are related screenshots of a content page 1280 thatappears with the user selection of the content tab 1282 showing thenewly created content item (“My Presentation” in the present example)that is then opened for viewing and editing. Information provided to theuser includes tags 1284, document author 1286, time of content creation1288 in first on-demand service (Salesforce), and workspace 1290 withinwhich the content is published. A comment area 1292 is also provided forother users to comment on the published shared content. An additionalinformation area 1294 is also provided.

In FIG. 12K in response to the user's selection of the open button 1296,a new browser window (user interface) (not shown) will open that loads astored link to the Google document that was selected by the user in theprevious screenshots 12A-12K.

In FIG. 12L in response to the user's selection of the subscribe button1298, a subscription for the current user/admin (“Jim Halpert” in theexample) to the content item is created. By subscribing to the contentitem, the user/admin is notified when the file is viewed, rated,commented on, etc.

FIGS. 13A-13F show a sequence of screenshots for contributing a contentitem in a second on-demand service from a workspace of a first on-demandservice according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13A shows a screenshot of the workspace page 1200 with theworkspace tab 1202 selected to display a content workspaces overview1208 of a first on-demand service (in the present example Salesforce),as was described in FIG. 12A, and therefore like feature will not bedescribed again. In FIG. 13A, in response to the selection of the“Contribute” tab 1302, a user is provided with the ability to contributea new file (content) or website link to the first on-demand service(Salesforce in the present example).

FIG. 13B shows a screenshot of an overlay dialog prompt 1304 toworkspace page 1200 that is opened in response to the user's selectionof the contribute button 1302 of FIG. 13A. The overlay dialog prompt1304 of the first on-demand service is configured to allow the user tonavigate to a file (content) on the client's computing device, oralternatively to provide a URL to a website or a file located at thewebsite specified by the URL.

FIG. 13C an overly 1310 that lists files stored on the user's computingdevice appears in response to user file path entry into input field 1306and selection of browse button 1308. A file/directory navigationapplication resident on the user's computing device is opened in orderto find a listing or directory of files that correspond to the userentry in input field 1306. Subsequently, the user selects 1312 and opens1314 a file from the list, and the file is uploaded to the firston-demand service.

FIG. 13D is a screenshot of an overlay page 1320 that initiates upon theuser selecting the open button 1314 of FIG. 13C. During the display ofthe overlay page 1320, the user's choice(s) for the file is uploaded(copied) to Salesforce (first on-demand service).

FIG. 13E is a screenshot of an overlay dialog page 1330 configured forthe user to provide classification for the uploaded file(s) from theuser's computing device by providing tags from a standard informationarea 1332 and additional information from an additional information area1334. In the event the user selects to publish to a shared workspace bychoosing sharing selection 1336, the user subsequently selects aworkspace (destination area) to publish the content to from a pull downmenu 1338. Tags are assigned to the content in tag area 1340. The usermay select suggested tags from a most recent used tag list 1342.Information to be specified by the user in the additional informationarea 1334 includes the content type via a pull down menu (not shown),the document type via a pull down menu (not shown), etc. The userutilizes the publish button 1344 when completing the entry ofinformation within overlay dialog page 1330.

FIG. 13F is a screenshot of a preview page 1350 generated in response touser selection of preview button 1352. In the event a new content itemassociated with an uploaded file has been created in the first on-demandservice, the preview button 1352 is provided for previewing the file'scontent in a preview area 1354 without requiring the user to open thefile.

FIGS. 14A-14D are a series of subscription content page 1400 screenshotsthat organize user subscribed content based on content, tags, authors,or workspace according to an embodiment of the invention.

In FIG. 14A user content that is subscribe to in an on-demand service(Salesforce in the present example) is displayed 1402 on subscriptioncontent page 1400 based on content in response to the user's selectionof the content tab 1404.

In FIG. 14B user content that is subscribe to in an on-demand service(Salesforce in the present example) is displayed 1402 on subscriptioncontent page 1400 based on tags attributed to the content in response tothe user's selection of the tag tab 1406.

In FIG. 14C user content that is subscribe to in an on-demand service(Salesforce in the present example) is displayed 1402 on subscriptioncontent page 1400 based on Authors attributed to the content in responseto the user's selection of the Author tab 1408.

In FIG. 14D user content that is subscribe to in an on-demand service(Salesforce in the present example) is displayed 1402 on subscriptioncontent page 1400 based on workspaces containing the content in responseto the user's selection of the workspaces tab 1410.

Method for Using the Environment (FIGS. 1A and 1B)

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart of an example of a method 1500 of usingenvironment 10. In step 1510, user system 12 (FIGS. 1A and 1B)establishes an account. In step 1512, one more tenant process spaces 104(FIG. 1B) are initiated on behalf of user system 12, which may alsoinvolve setting aside space in tenant space 112 (FIG. 1B) and tenantdata 114 (FIG. 1B) for user system 12. Step 1512 may also involvemodifying application metadata to accommodate user system 12. In step1514, user system 12 uploads data. In step 1516, one or more dataobjects are added to tenant data 114 where the uploaded data is stored.In step 1518, methods and the code for generating the WebPagesassociated with FIGS. 4-14 may be implemented. The user of method 1500may represent an organization that is a tenant of system 16 (FIG. 1A) ormay be associated with the tenant. In an embodiment, each of the stepsof method 1500 is a distinct step. In another embodiment, althoughdepicted as distinct steps in FIG. 12, steps 1502-1518 may not bedistinct steps. In other embodiments, method 1500 may not have all ofthe above steps and/or may have other steps in addition to or instead ofthose listed above. The steps of method 1500 may be performed in anotherorder. Subsets of the steps listed above as part of method 1500 may beused to form their own method.

Method for Creating the Environment (FIGS. 1A and 1B)

FIG. 16 is a method of making environment 10, in step 1602, user system12 (FIGS. 1A and 1B) is assembled, which may include communicativelycoupling one or more processors, one or more memory devices, one or moreinput devices (e.g., one or more mice, keyboards, and/or scanners), oneor more output devices (e.g., one more printers, one or more interfacesto networks, and/or one or more monitors) to one another.

In step 1604, system 16 (FIGS. 1A and 1B) is assembled, which mayinclude communicatively coupling one or more processors, one or morememory devices, one or more input devices (e.g., one or more mice,keyboards, and/or scanners), one or more output devices (e.g., one moreprinters, one or more interfaces to networks, and/or one or moremonitors) to one another. Additionally assembling system 16 may includeinstalling application platform 18, network interface 20, tenant datastorage 22, system data storage 24, system data 25, program code 26,process space 28, UI 30, API 32, PL/SOQL 34, save routine 36,application setup mechanism 38, applications servers 100 ₁-100 _(N),system process space 102, tenant process spaces 104, tenant managementprocess space 110, tenant space 112, tenant data 114, and applicationmetadata 116 (FIG. 1B).

In step 1606, user system 13 is communicatively coupled to network 104.In step 1608, system 16 is communicatively coupled to network 104allowing user system 12 and system 16 to communicate with one another(FIG. 1B). In step 1610, one or more instructions may be installed insystem 16 (e.g., the instructions may be installed on one or moremachine readable media, such as computer readable media, therein) and/orsystem 16 is otherwise configured for performing the steps of methodsand generating the WebPages associated with FIGS. 4-14. For example, aspart of step 1610, one or more instructions may be entered into thememory of system 16 for creating document links and sharing documentsbetween on-demand systems. In an embodiment, each of the steps of method1600 is a distinct step. In another embodiment, although depicted asdistinct steps in FIG. 13, steps 1602-1608 may not be distinct steps. Inother embodiments, method 1600 may not have all of the above stepsand/or may have other steps in addition to or instead of those listedabove. The steps of method 1600 may be performed in another order.Subsets of the steps listed above as part of method 1600 may be used toform their own method.

EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES

Alternatively or additionally, some or all of the relational informationmay be automatically retrieved from the second on-demand service (e.g.,a search may be performed automatically for the relational informationand/or the relational information may be organized in a standardized oralready known format so that the relational information may be easilyfound). In an embodiment, the relational information may be associatedwith a pointer prior to publishing the pointer. The relationalinformation may be used for categorizing the pointer and/or grouping thepointer with other related information.

In an embodiment, a user of a first on-demand database may also be ableto establish and/or modify the context (e.g., the category) of a pointerafter the pointer has been published in addition to or instead ofestablishing the relationship and/or relevance prior to publishing thepointer.

In an embodiment, while a pointer or link may still be placed on one ormore web pages of the first and/or second on-demand database forinitiating the establishment of the pointer, the user of the firston-demand database may open (e.g., via a browser) both on-demanddatabases, and the pointer is established in response to the usercopying and pasting a document reference or identifier from oneon-demand database to another on-demand database.

In an embodiment, the sharing of the documents may also include applyingat least one process of the first on-demand service to at least onepiece of content from the content in the second on-demand service, whichmay include using the indicator to locate the content. Furthermore, inthe sharing of documents, the applying of at least one process of thefirst on-demand service may also include applying a search of contentstored in the first on-demand service and content stored in the secondon-demand service.

In an embodiment, the methods described within this specification may beapplied to links that link a first on-demand service to multipleon-demand services.

Each embodiment disclosed herein may be used or otherwise combined withany of the other embodiments disclosed. Any element of any embodimentmay be used in any embodiment.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms ofthe specific embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention isnot limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it isintended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements aswould be apparent to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope ofthe appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so asto encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer usable storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed to cause a computer to implement a method comprising: providing, by a first service of a first system, a webpage associated with an account of a user with the first service, the webpage having first content that is stored by the first service of the first system; providing, by the first service of the first system, an option to make second content stored by a second service of a second system viewable on the webpage, the second content associated with an account of the user with the second service; receiving, by the first service of the first system from the user via the option, a configuration of the webpage that makes the second content stored by the second service of the second system viewable on the webpage; after receiving the configuration, receiving by the first service of the first system from the user, a request to view the webpage; and sending, from the first service of the first system in response to the request, the webpage having the first content that is stored by the first service of the first system and the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system.
 2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first content that is stored by the first service of the first system is specific to the user.
 3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system is specific to the user.
 4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the first service of the first system includes a web based database.
 5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein receiving, by the first service of the first system from the user via the option, a configuration of the webpage includes receiving, from the user, account information for the account of the user with the second service.
 6. The computer program product of claim 5, wherein the account information includes a username and password for the account of the user with the second service.
 7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system is associated with the account of the user with the second service.
 8. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising: after receiving the request to view the webpage, automatically logging the user into the second service.
 9. The computer program product of claim 6, further comprising: after receiving the request to view the webpage, retrieving, by the first service of the first system, the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system.
 10. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein receiving the configuration of the webpage that makes the second content stored by the second service of the second system viewable on the webpage includes: receiving a selection, by the first service of the first system from the user, of the option, and configuring, by the first service of the first system, the webpage to make the content stored by the second service of the second system viewable on the webpage.
 11. A method, comprising: performing, by at least one processor of a first system: providing, by the first system through a first service of the first system, a webpage associated with an account of a user with the first service, the webpage having first content that is stored by the first service of the first system; providing, by the first system through the first service, an option to make second content stored by a second service of a second system viewable on the webpage, the second content associated with an account of the user with the second service; receiving, by the first system through the first service from the user via the option, a configuration of the webpage that makes the second content stored by the second service of the second system viewable on the webpage; after receiving the configuration, receiving by the first system through the first service from the user, a request to view the webpage; and sending, from the first system through the first service in response to the request, the webpage having the first content that is stored by the first service of the first system and the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system.
 12. A system, comprising: a first system having at least one processor for: providing, by a first service of the first system, a webpage associated with an account of a user with the first service, the webpage having first content that is stored by the first service of the first system; providing, by the first service of the first system, an option to make second content stored by a second service of a second system viewable on the webpage, the second content associated with an account of the user with the second service; receiving, by the first service of the first system from the user via the option, a configuration of the webpage that makes the second content stored by the second service of the second system viewable on the webpage; after receiving the configuration, receiving by the first service of the first system from the user, a request to view the webpage; and sending, from the first service of the first system in response to the request, the webpage having the first content that is stored by the first service of the first system and the second content that is stored by the second service of the second system. 